This column represents the thoughts and opinions of Jason Hennington. This is not the opinion of the Taylor Press.
Watching Thursday night's Taylor City Council meeting, I realized sometimes people rearrange words to benefit themselves. We've all witnessed the back and forth between Taylor Pride, the Taylor Area Ministerial Alliance and the city over the Christmas/holiday parade.
Inclusion has been the word of discussion. TAMA and Pride both have their beliefs. Both sides stick to their values and have support in the community. However, organizations such as Texas Values, based out of Austin, have appeared and taken the conversation in a different direction. Texas Values members say their organization advocates for the preservation of Christian ideals and family.
They entered the fray following the council’s decision last year to support an inconclusive holiday parade after some LGBTQ-plus organizations felt unwelcome in the alliance’s more-established Christmas procession.
'The city wants to tell Christians and churches that they cannot participate in a parade because of their ... religious beliefs,' said Mary Elizabeth Castle, director of government relations with Texas Values. According to Castle, the organization has spent more than a decade fighting for religious liberty for everyday Texans.
I do not believe Texas Values is trying to help make Taylor a better place. I think they have inserted themselves to raise their own visibility in this situation, which has garnered national headlines.
The alliance did not want drag queens in the parade, while Taylor Pride members felt their organization was being excluded. That was the original topic of discussion and it is being handled on the local level with dialogue from all sides.
Alliance representatives said they did not prevent Taylor Pride from being in the parade last Christmas, as long as their float fit 'traditional biblical” and family values. Whether Taylor Pride submitted a registration form or not is a different question. The city hosted the inclusive Very Merry Holiday parade and invited everyone to participate, regardless of nationality, religion or sexual orientation.
Again, that was the original dispute. June is Pride Month, so it’s not unusual the discussion is again picking up steam.
However, Texas Values’ use of phrases such as 'the city of Taylor implemented rules that kept Christians out of the city-sponsored Christmas parade' is inaccurate.
In the wake of the controversy, city staff has created a policy for city-sponsored events, which all organization must follow if they want municipal support.
Taylor Values cited cases such as Trinity Lutheran Church versus Comer – a 2017 case that concluded the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment protected the freedom to practice religion and subjects laws that burden religious practice to strict scrutiny — but that is not relevant to Taylor's situation. Castle also said the new policy has so many requirements, 'a number of citizens could find themselves muzzled from speaking in a public domain or participating in something as simple as a Christmas parade.'
Even if the city declines to fund an event, that doesn’t stop an organization from holding, hosting or participating in it. This is where words are rearranged to fit the narrative of Texas Values.
The alliance and Taylor Pride are both fighting for what they believe is the good of Taylor.
Texas Values, however, is attempting to ride the coattails of the controversy for the betterment of their organization. That's not good for Taylor.Why would it be for an Austin based organization?
Just like with my family, we can fight each other, but I’m not going to let an outsider come in and rally for or against my kin. I'm going to get off my soapbox now and watch Game 4 of the NBA finals, but first I’m going to look for great prizes for the upcoming Taylor Press 3-on-3 tournament, set for next month. I'm open to suggestions ... and donations. Reach out to me at the above email.
'You can't be distracted by the noise of misinformation.' - James Daly
